Carnival Cruise Lines clocks one-week booking record

Cruise Industry

Carnival Cruise Lines set a one-week reservations record with 187,283 gross guest bookings made Jan. 28-Feb. 3, the Miami-based cruise operator announced Wednesday.

The cruise line said bookings were at high levels during the period across its 24-ship fleet.

In a statement Carnival President and CEO Gerry Cahill cited a number of factors as contributing to the record booking activity, including recent ship enhancements and the continued recognition of the value provided by a Carnival cruise vacation.

“Consumers continue to seek value in their discretionary purchases and we’ve taken the value of a Carnival cruise vacation to a completely new level with an extensive range of product innovations and enhancements that are receiving tremendous accolades and enticing more and more consumers to vacation with us,” Cahill said.

In other Carnival news this week, Carnival Victory arrived at PortMiami Monday to start new year-round four-and five-day cruises to the Caribbean and Bahamas, operator Carnival Cruise Lines said.

The 2,758-passenger cruise ship replaces Carnival Destiny, which left PortMiami the same day on an 18-day trans-Atlantic voyage to Venice, Italy.

After arriving in Venice on Feb. 22, Destiny will enter a 49-day drydock for a $155 million makeover. The ship will emerge with a new name — Carnival Sunshine — and several new dining, bar and entertainment options, Carnival said.